Cheyenne Frontier Days

So. I've never been to a rodeo before (at least not that I can remember). Given that, we decided to try something new and head up to Cheyenne's Frontier Days this year. I invited some college friends and we picked a day. That day was yesterday. ;)

To start, we watched the fabulous USAF Thunderbirds. Yes, the fact that the Thunderbirds were performing yesterday had a great deal to do with our choosing yesterday as the day to go. (Let's just say that boys weren't overly enthusiastic about just watching a rodeo, lol.) 

In any case, it was an awesome show and did not disappoint. The boys particularly liked when a single plane would do a quick fly-by while your attention was elsewhere. (Fortunately, Micah is at the stage now where he thought this was fantastic and not back at the point where he felt loud planes were too loud...similar to the toddler in front of us who *freaked* out due to the volume, lol.)

(Insert note here that I opted not to lug my camera around all day so only took photos on my iPhone. Sorry. But, it was totally worth it not to have the extra bag/weight, lol.)

After we left the field where we watched the airshow, we grabbed some lunch (Thanks again, Marti, for your help in that department! We ended up at Two Doors Down and it was great.) and then went to the rodeo!

(For anyone who might be unfamiliar with this rodeo, like we were, we recommend definitely sitting on the west side of the arena...in the afternoon, you're in the shade and not looking into the sun. All good. We ended up in the balcony section of the B stands, opting for the assigned seats rather than general admission because there were eight of us and we wanted to be sure we'd be altogether. The east stands probably do have a better/closer view of the action, but we were perfectly content in our spots and using the big screen tvs when necessary.)

Back to my story...the bucking horse being ridden above was named Crazy Mary. We were all fascinated by the different events...the bareback riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, steer wrangling, colt race and so forth. We decided, though, that next time we may have to do a bit more research ahead of time so we'll actually know what we're watching, lol...not that that stopped us from applauding and gasping with the rest of the audience. :) Micah says his favorite was the bull riding, but all three agree (fortunately, lol) that rodeo is not something they'd want to participate in. 

And here's a picture of Molly, me and Melissa (taken by Mark) before the weather took a turn and changed from sunny and 80s to windy and pouring rain...

Given the weird weather, we did get a bit wet and ended up leaving the rodeo a little before it was actually done for the day. Since as soon as we were out of the stands the sky cleared and went back to sunshine (of course), we then got some desserts (we were at the fair after all, lol)...funnel cake, elephant ears and dippin' dots...and wandered some of the commercial exhibits before heading out. 

We ended up eating dinner together in Fort Collins (having called ahead from the car during the drive after discovering that the wait time in Cheyenne was about the same as the drive time from Cheyenne to Fort Collins), where Micah provided the final entertainment for the day by losing his other front tooth right into his mac and cheese. 

Yes, there was more drama and I had to take the boy to the bathroom lest he bleed to death (or so he thought). But. Molly had promised him $5 if his tooth came out before she left and the waiter felt a lost tooth deserved a scoop of ice cream, so the boy was delighted. 

And thus ended our pretty darn good day. :)

Comments

[Marti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your day!!! It was really great seeing you at the air show, too. Tom and I have decided that you have some special powers since you have found us twice - both times in very crowded events.